Hadramout (South24) 

Yesterday, Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) issued decisions appointing new military and civilian officials in Wadi Hadramout, South Yemen.

The decision appointed Staff Colonel Amer bin Hatian as the Staff of the First Military District to succeed Brigadier General Yahya Abu Auja.

The newly-appointed Staff Colonel Amer bin Hatian (local media)

Amer Saeed Al-Amiri was also appointed as Undersecretary of Hadramout Governorate for the Wadi and Desert Affairs, succeeding Essam bin Habrish, who was appointed as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Administration.

The PLC appointed Staff Colonel Nasser Saleh Al-Wadea as the Staff of the 135th Infantry Brigade, one of the brigades of the First Military District, which is commanded by the Northern officer Yahya Abu Auja until today.

The decisions came in conjunction with a major popular escalation taking place in the oil-rich areas of Wadi Hadramout and Desert to remove the First Military District consisting of many Northern brigades.

In the city of Seiyun, the capital of Wadi Hadramout, locals celebrated by launching fireworks after the Northern officer Abu Auja was ousted from his key position.

On the other hand, some Hadramout residents accused the PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi of attempting to discourage and brake the popular escalation by issuing formal decisions instead of the expected decision to expel the forces of the First Military District.

In a statement, the "Youth of Anger" movement announced its rejection of "any solutions that obstruct the implementation of the military proivisons of the Riyadh agreement."

The movement called for a peaceful escalation, and the start of a comprehensive civil strike, starting tomorrow in the cities of the Wadi Hadramout and the Desert, to stress the need to remove the Northern forces.

On December the 2nd, the First Military District banned an artistic event in the city of Seiyun, sponsored by the PLC member Aidrous Al-Zubaidi and the Governor of Hadramout Mabkhout bin Madhi.

The First Military District deployed soldiers and tanks to prevent the event participants marking the anniversary of South Yemen's independence from the British Colonialism on November 30, 1967

Days earlier, the Northern officer Yahya Abu Auja threatened the people of Hadramout and the STC in the governorate, accusing them of trying to stir up chaos.